Introduction

Timothy Gregory’s entry on Byzantine Archaeology in The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium (Kazhdan 1991) began by commenting that this field hardly existed, reinforcing similar comments by Rautman (1990). Crow’s latest review (2010) continues the criticism of the slow development of an independent archaeological approach to Byzantine civilization, although in contrast Athanassopoulos’s review (2008) suggests that Greek Medieval Archaeology has finally “come of age.” The splendid Thessaloniki exhibition of Byzantine everyday life certainly succeeds in embedding museum objects into the wider society that produced and used them (Papanikola-Bakirtzi 2002). Nevertheless whilst the churches and art of the independent Byzantine empire from the later seventh to early thirteenth centuries, and of the divided empire of the subsequent era to 1453 AD (when much ofthe Aegean had been conquered by Crusaders or “Franks”), have been thoroughly studied for many generations, archaeology as the total integrated examination of society has barely begun, by the standards of West European Medieval Archaeology. We refer to the survey and excavation of farms, villages, cemeteries, town quarters, isolated defenses and castles, industrial zones, harbors, monasteries, etc.

Yet a more holistic approach to Byzantine material culture began already a century ago, when

Large-scale American excavations uncovering major Classical monuments in the ancient Agora at Athens and in ancient Corinth revealed significant overlying Medieval levels. Very creditably the excavation directors commissioned pioneering studies of the finds (e. g., Frantz 1938, 1942), the most substantial of which, Morgan (1942), remains a major sourcebook for Byzantine and Frankish ceramics in the Aegean. Even earlier, a group of British archaeologists with remarkably wide period-interests were publishing papers on Byzantine and Frankish churches and castles at the beginning of the twentieth century (Wace, Traquair, and others). Over the last two decades an explosion of new data has emerged from two parallel developments. Firstly, interest has been renewed in post-Roman excavated deposits from urban excavations, especially at Corinth (Sanders 2000). Secondly, widespread evidence for Medieval rural life has emerged from regional surface surveys.

As a result, a better understanding of the ceramic sequence has been called for, not just the fine tablewares which had already been published as art objects, but of the domestic and coarse wares which dominate archaeological assemblages. Notable advances have been made by combining ceramic studies from production sites, excavated town sites, and the often large collections of surface finds from regional survey. Key works for Medieval-Postmedieval Aegean ceramics include the

The Complete Archaeology of Greece: From Hunter-Gatherers to the 20th Century AD, First Edition. John Bintliff. © 2012 John Bintliff. Published 2012 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Sarafane excavation in Constantinople (Hayes 1992); Hayes’ contributions to regional rural surveys (Kea: Cherry et al. 1991; Boeotia: Bintliff et al. 2007); Bakirtzis on medieval cooking, storage, and transport wares (1989); Papanikola-Bakirtzi on medieval glazed wares (1992, 1999); Sanders’ studies of urban deposits from Corinth (2000); and overviews by Vroom (2003, 2005) andVionis (2001). Coarse wares and fabric studies now extend the diagnosticity of assemblages beyond traditional reliance on decorated pottery (Lang 2009).

Additionally the Austrian Tabula Byzantina project has since 1976 issued atlases of the Byzantine empire, province (theme) by province (Koder 1996). Alongside excellent maps showing the location of monuments, excavations, and literary topographic references, the texts of these volumes offer historical-geographical reviews, upon which intensive regional surface survey can build up local detail.

Reflecting this broadening of approaches, several significant volumes dealing with Medieval Greece have appeared (Lock and Sanders 1996, Caraher et al. 2008, Bintliff and Stoger 2009). Alongside these are excellent recent studies of Byzantine history, including archaeological information (Foss and Magdalino 1977, Ducellier 1986, Haldon 2000, Gregory 2006).